Court issues detention warrant for journalist Nesin on terror charges

An İstanbul court has issued a detention warrant for writer and journalist Ahmet Nesin, son of the late famous Turkish novelist Aziz Nesin, on charges of disseminating the propaganda of a terror organization by lending support to the Özgür Gündem daily, closed down by the government.

In order to extend his support to the daily, Nesin served as its editor-in-chief for one day last year.

Özgür Gündem, a critical daily that was published in Turkish and Kurdish, was temporarily closed down on Aug. 16 on charges of promoting the propaganda of a terror organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The daily was permanently closed down by government decree on Oct. 29.

The detention warrant for Nesin was issued by the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court.

Nesin was detained along with the founding president of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı, and the Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Erol Önderoğlu, on June 20. He was released after spending 11 days in prison.

Along with Fincancı, Nesin and Önderoğlu, many other writers and intellectuals have been prosecuted and even jailed for taking part in the campaign to support Özgür Gündem.